Amalgamator.



R. F. LOUNSBERRY.

AMALGAMATOR.

APPLICATION HLED JuLvl4.1913.v

1,21 1,729. Patented Jan. 9,1917.

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H.F.L0UNSBERRY. AMALGAMATO'R. APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, 1913.

1,21 1.329, Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

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STATES ROWE F. LOUNSBERRY, OF SHERIDAN, /VYOMING, ASSIGNOR TO MID-CONTINENT MACHINERY COMPANY, OF SHERIDAN, WYOMING, A CORPORATION OF W'YOMING.

AMALGAMATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application'led .Tuly 14, 1913. SeraI No. 779,063.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Rown F. LOUNSBERRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sheridan, in the county of Sheridan and State of Wyoming, have invented a certain new and useful Amalgamator, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of amalgamators in which a quantity of mercury or its equivalent is contained within a receptacle and gold bearing ores and water are forced through the body of mercury and agitated while passing through the body of mercury.

My object is to provide in a device of this class a series of riiiles at the discharge end of the amalgamator arranged with their tops at different heights, the ones nearest the discharge end being higher, than the ones spaced apart fromthe discharge end; and also to provide means whereby water under pressure may be discharged into the pockets, between the tops of the rii'lies and over the inclined sides thereof for'the purpose of yseparating or washing apart any particles of mercury that may adhere to the gold bearing ores being discharged from the amalgamator and to collect this mercury and return it to the mercury compartment; and further in this connection toy provide means whereby a different amount of water pressure may, if desired, be injected into each of the pockets between the tops of the riil'les to suit the requirements of actual use and to produce a maximum separation of the mercury and ores without danger of washing the mercury with the ores out over the last rifl'le at the discharge end of the device.

My invention consists in certain details, in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and iliustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a vertical, central, longitudinal, sectional view of an amalgamator embodying my invention. Fig. 2 shows a top or plan view of same with parts broken away to show the details of construction.

li'leferring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate the receptacle in which the ymercury this platform 17 is a series of rifiies.

is contained'. At the receiving end of this receptacle is a hollow column 11 through which the gold bearing ores and water are delivered to the mercury receptacle, and whereby pressure is applied to the mercury. I At the central portion of the mercury receptacle is a shaft 12. A vertical partition 13 extends from the top of the mercury receptacle downwardly and surrounds said shaft 12. Contained within the mercury receptacle is a number of shafts 13 having agitators la thereon. These agitators and the means for driving them form no part of my present invention, and hence a detailed description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

At the bottom of the mercury chamber is a detachable plate 15 and a pipe 16 leading from the bot-tom of the mercury chamber and by means of which the amalgam may be withdrawn when desired.

vAt the discharge end of the mercury chamber is a platform 17 inclined upwardly and which is designed to receive and support the riifleshereinafter described. Mounted upon Each rifiie is preferably made of sheet metal and comprises a vertical side 18 adjacent to the mercury receptacle and a side 19 inclined downwardly and toward the discharge end of the apparatus. These riffles are each preferably of about the same height but in view of the fact that they rest on the inclined platform17, the top of each riflle is in a somewhat higher plane than the preceding one, the last riiiie at the discharge end being the highest and the top of thislast riflie determines the level of the material contained Within the mercury receptacle, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Mounted beneath this platform 1'7 is a water chamber 20 having a number of compartments 21 therein, one for each rifle. Arranged at one side of lthe device is a water pipe 22. A series of pipes 23 is provided for communicating between the pipe 22 and each of the water chambers 21. Each of these pipes 23 is provided with a regulating valve 24 by which pressure into each compartment may be independently regulated.

Formed in the platform 17 is a series of water passageways 9.5 arranged so that the current of water is discharged from the water chamber 21 through these passageways 25 in a direction parallel with each top surface of the inclined portion of the adjacent riifle, as clearly shown in Ifig. 1. In the water compartment nearest the mercury compartment, I preferably provide two series of these openings, one indicated by the numeral 26 to discharge upwardly and toward the center of the mercury chamber,

and the other indicated by the numeral 52"( to discharge horizontally through the mercury chamber at about the level of the mercury therein. In the drawings, the mercury level is indicated by the darkly shaded material within the mercury chamber. The lighter shaded material above is water and gold bearing ores that have passed through the mercury.

Formed in the inclined platform 17 is a mercury passageway 2S communicating with the pockets between the rifles and leading to the mercury chamber so that any mercury resting in the bottoms of the pockets will move by gravity back into the mercury chamber.

At the discharge end of the apparatus is a discharge trough or chute 29 hinged at 30 to the main part of the apparatus and coutaining a series of riflles S1 to form pockets to receive and contain any mercury that might be washed over the riiiles 18 and 19.

In practical use, as the gold bearing ores and water are being forced through the mercury under pressure and are being violently agitated, it sometimes occurs that the mercury is so mixed up and commingled with the gold bearing ores that some of the mercury is carried with the ores through the amalgamator. It has been found very diliicult to thoroughly separate this mercury from the ores that are being discharged and hpce the loss of mercury has been considera e.

I have found that the particles of the gold bearing ores that contain some mercury are heavier than the other ores and sands and that the mercury bearing ores and sands will drop into the pockets between the rifiles. 'I have also found that by injecting currents of water under pressure into the bottoms of these pockets7 the mercury is washed from the ores and sands and after this is done the ores and sands will rise over the rifles and the mercury will descend by gravity to the bottoms of the riiiies. Ihave also found that by having the currents of water under pressure injected into the space between the rifHes so that they pass over the tops of the inclined portions of the riftles, then the currents of water and gold bearing ores being discharged from the device will meet and commingle and start in a circular motion in the spaces between the rifiles, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, thus giving an opportunity for the mercury to detach itself from the sands and ores and to settle to the bottom of the riflies.

main mercury receptacle. I have also found it very advantageous to have a means whereby the operator can, at all times, control and regulate the amount of water pressure discharged into each of the spaces between the riflies so that the dierent requirements of use may be met.

Obviously on account of the relatively shallow depth of material at the last rile at the discharge end, it is desirable that the water pressure there be less than at the space between the riflie farthest from the discharge end where the depth of the material is greater.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the class described, an inclined platform, a series of riflies of substantially uniform size on said platform, each riffle comprising a substantially vertical front portion and a. rear portion inclined downwardly and rearwardly, said platform being provided with water passageways extending through it to discharge into the space between each of the riifles in a direction substantially parallel with the inclined side of the riii'ie, and independent means for supplying water under pressure to each of said passageways for each of the spaces between the riftles.

2. In a device of the class described, an inclined platform, a series of rilfles of substantially uniform size on said platform, each riffie comprising a substantially vertical front portion and a rear portion inclined downwardly and rearwardly, said platform being provided with water passageways extending through it to discharge into the spaces between each of the rimes in a direction substantially parallel with the inclined side of the rifles, for the purposes stated.

3. An improved amalgamator, comprising a receptacle designed to contain mercury, means for supplying ores and water thereto under pressure, meansl for agitating the mercury, means for drawing off the amalgam, an inclined platform at the delivery end thereof, a water receptacle below the inclined platform having independent compartments therein, independent means for supplying water to each compartment, means for regulating the pressure of the water in each of said water supplying means, said inclined platform being provided with a number of series'of openings inclined upwardly and away from the delivery end, a series of rifies on top of the inclined platform, each rifiie being of the same height and the front edge of each being substantially vertical and the rear side being inclined downwardly and rearwardly, said position, substantially as and for the purrear sides being so arranged that the openposes stated. ings in the inclined platform will discharge Des Moines, Iowa, June 28, 1913.

upwardly parallel therewith, there being B. F. LOUNSBERRY. also openings in the platform to discharge `Witnessesz over the top of the mercury within the mer- D. T. HUBER,

eury chamber in a substantially horizontal L. C. MAURER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

